Optical fiber connectors are used in a variety of optical telecommunications applications and optical device applications to establish optical communication between optical-based apparatus, components, etc. In many instances, two optical fibers need to be optically connected to establish an optical link. This connection process can include stripping the fiber of its coating and then cutting or “cleaving” the bare glass fiber portion so that it can be fusion spliced or mechanically spliced to another optical fiber, or in incorporated into an optical fiber connector (i.e., “connectorized”).
The optical fiber cleaving process is typically done mechanically by scribing and breaking the optical fiber. While the resulting cleaved end face is generally flat, the end face can suffer damage. Further, the mechanical process is subject to variation in the angle of the end face.
Laser-based ablation has also been used to perform optical fiber cleaving. Unfortunately, the various types of lasers that have been used are either far too large or far too costly to make a cleaving tool that is affordable while also being sufficiently compact to be easily handled by a technician in the field.